Seven Rules For Thriving In The Retail Revolution

At a recent customer conference — a gathering of dozens of executives of the nation’s top food retailers — I opened my keynote by paraphrasing the opening line of “A Tale Of Two Cities”: “It’s the best of times, it’s the worst of times.” I was talking, of course, not about the French Revolution, but the revolution that’s afoot in my industry. And unlike Dickens, I was looking at what’s happening not in the past but in the present. I do not subscribe to the view that we are in the middle of a retail apocalypse; rather, I believe this is a retail revolution where the winners and the losers are yet to be determined. While the headlines continue to spook retailers inside and outside the food sector (Sears filed for Chapter 11, while Toys R Us is plotting a comeback), it seems like we are only focused on the worst-of-times/doomsday scenario. The truth: success stories have been obscured in the toss and tumult, and a rulebook for success is emerging. In a nod to another writer about revolutions — Saul Alinsky, author of the infamous Rules For Radicals — I offer seven principles that the best and the brightest retailers are following to weather the storm. Read more at Forbes.